“One of Trahan’s core suggestions is to have the government require colleges to publish rates at which their graduates default on student-loan payments. Such a measure exists at the state level, and she said the increased transparency would force institutions to reassess how they help students.

“There’s no better way to reorient resources than when you’re going to have to pay some penalty for not being focused on the right enforcement or allocation of resources at your school,” Trahan said. “I’d like to have visibility and transparency on: what do we do to place our students who are leaving after we’ve received $150,000 from them?”

Any costs in her suggestions, she said, could be covered by a new tax policy in which “everyone’s paying their fair share” and less spending on military.”